Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Concerns about dissing a book of the Bible are not irrational and unfounded concerns. You have an errant thought about what is God's word. God's word is not just the red letter words of Jesus. God's word exhausts every avenue of thought and speech. God's word even includes the words of Satan and Judas. Imagine that!
I am not holding the book of James to a different standard. Matthew is God's word, and so is James, from the first word to the last.
Cassidy, I do wish you would apply your critiques of the book of James to the many writings of Lee instead. It was Lee who was not clear about God's New Testament Economy.
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Igzy, I like your last question and will get to that. First, I want to address this point Ohio made as follows.
" God's word is not just the red letter words of Jesus"
What is your point here? I never said, suggested, nor remotey implied that. Are you trying to distract from the train of thought?
"God's word even includes the words of Satan and Judas. Imagine that!"
Let's clarify. All 66 books of the Bible are inspired by God and that includes every word from the first verse in Gen 1 to the last verse in Revelation. We call this Holy Writ the inspired Scripture or God's Word or the Bible.
The Scripture even includes words right out of Satan's mouth, it includes the vain and dark human counsel from Job's friends, it includes the uninspired ideas of Peter to forbid Jesus from going to the cross or his suggestion to make three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
We can find thousands of such examples in the Bible where human thought, Satanic ideas, misguided opinions are expressed. Those few examples are sufficient to confirm that. The Bible even quotes books that were determined not inspired and not included in of the Canon of Scripture such as the book of Enoch quoted by Jude. These are not God's words though they are included in God's Word.
Now for some reason
you want to treat the book of James as if it could not possibly contain something other than God's words. Recall, I did not say James is not inspired nor did I say that the book is not part of God's Word (capital as in the Holy Writ of Scripture). As I said all 66....
James was one of the most pious brothers in the early christian church. He was faithful in martyrdom too. He will have his faithful reward. However, many things in the book of James were not God's words. We also know from the scripture and from history that there were problems from Jewish christian teachers and leaders. Even Peter was intimidated and withdrew from eating with the Gentiles when some "came from James". Paul openly confronted Peter for this and this also indicates there was an issue.
The book is there for a good reason. I have not torn it out of my Bible and I read it too. Unlike Luther who thought it should never have been included at all, Witness Lee taught it has its proper place and of course it does. Like many passages that serve to instruct us by command, encouragement, exhortation, or contrast the book of James accomplishes that.
Yet,
there is no logical nor biblical basis for holding the irrational belief that every word in the book of James, all of them without exception, are all also God's words.